Contemporary perspectives of the child in action: An investigation into children’s connectedness with, and contribution to, the world around them

Childcare within Australia has undergone significant reform as a result of the implementation of the nationally mandated Belonging, Being and Becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework [EYLF] (Department for Education, Employment and Workplace Relations [DEEWR]. 2009. Belonging, Being and Becoming. The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia. Canberra: Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations). The EYLF articulates contemporary perspectives of the child through its principles, practices and learning outcomes. Educators are required to promote these principles, practices and learning outcomes with children aged from birth to 5 years. This paper reports the findings from a research project that sought to investigate how educators applied their understanding of learning outcome two of the EYLF (children are connected with and contribute to their world). The focus of this research was educators working with children aged two to three years within childcare centres operating on school sites, in metropolitan Western Australian. The research design was qualitative and situated within the interpretivist paradigm. Observations were used as the method for gathering data and these were analysed through a process of coding. This paper presents the observational findings of educators’ practices within learning outcome two. Composite vignettes from the voice of the child are included to present the observational findings. In centralising the voice of the child, contemporary perspectives are made explicit

Using narratives to understand progress in youth alcohol and other drug treatment

Purpose – This paper aims to illustrate how narrative research techniques can be employed to promote greater understanding of young people’s experiences of progress in residential alcohol and other drug treatment. Design/methodology/approach – Narrative inquiry is used to explore client understandings of what characterises progress in treatment for young people attending a residential detoxification and a residential rehabilitation service in Perth, Western Australia. This article focuses on stories of progress collected through in-depth qualitative interviews, observation and participation with clients of the two services, over a five-month period. Findings – Analysis of data revealed that young people were able to vividly describe their progress through treatment, and their drug taking trajectories can be conceptualised along five stages. The authors prepared narrative accounts to illustrate the features characteristic of each stage as identified by the young people. These composite narratives, written from the perspectives of young people, are presented in this article. Practical implications – Clients’ own perceptions of their journeys through drug treatment might enable staff of such services to collaborate with the young person, in shaping and positively reinforcing alternative life-stories; from those of exclusion and disconnection, to narratives of opportunity, inclusion and possibility. Originality/value – Harmful adolescent drug and alcohol use is on the rise in Australia and elsewhere. However, our knowledge of how young people experience progress through residential treatment for substance use is limited. This paper highlights how creating narratives from young people’s own stories of progress can broaden our knowledge of “what works” in residential youth alcohol and other drug treatment services

Looking within to build strong foundations of personhood: The importance of Early Years Teacher’s Reflective Practice in the formation of a positive sense of identity in the children they work with

A collaborative research project between the Schools of Education at the University of Notre Dame Australia and the University of Western Australia has produced data that looks at how the Australian Early Years Framework is experienced in practice within Schools that deliver programmes for two year old children in the Perth Metropolitan area of Western Australia. The data of this project was analysed and prepared for academic journal publication using the very themes upon which the AEYLF is built; Identity, Connection to the world, Wellbeing, Confident Learning and Effective Communication. Papers presenting the data within these themes are a central outcome of the collaboration and are currently in progress. The paper which deals with the issue of identity formation within the two year old participants leaves the question of the importance of reflective practice wide open for debate and analysis. As such, this additional paper examines the relationship between a teacher’s reflective practice and the formation of a positive sense of self-identity in the toddlers they work with. The concept of identity formation and the pertinent role of the teacher are examined. The importance of reflective practice in establishing both the teacher’s awareness of identity formation, and their attentiveness to their own role within the very nuanced variations of it that can unfold for children, as they develop a sense of self in partnership with the influential adults in their lives. The teacher’s role is critical within this exchange and their engagement with reflective practice is essential to ensure the most positive outcomes for the children they work with

Mixed-reality learning environments in teacher education: An analysis of TeachLivE™ research

TeachLivE™, a mixed-reality simulated classroom technology, has been used in initial teacher education programs to provide repeatable experiential learning opportunities for students now for more than a decade and in more than 80 universities worldwide. However, no broad scale investigation has been conducted into how the platform has been used or what research has been generated as a result. The aim of this study is to provide insight into the types of TeachLivE™ research carried out since its inception and to identify trends and potential gaps in this research. Peer-reviewed academic primary research publications—journal articles (23), conference proceedings (12), and thesis dissertations (20)—were reviewed for participants, research methods, analysis, research design, data collection tools, and design approaches. Of the 102 articles identified as relevant, “instructional skills development” and “integration of TeachLivE™ in teacher education” were the most commonly researched topics. Findings indicate that preservice teachers were the most commonly studied group of participants, research methods were predominately qualitative, single-subject experimental research design was employed most often, and the most used data collection tools were surveys and observation. These findings highlight that the range of topics is increasing, with studies on in-service teachers in school-based contexts beginning to emerge as a new area of interest. This systematic review has implications for researchers and the developers of TeachLivE™. It provides valuable insight and recommendations for future studies in this emerging teacher education field, where technology is not simply used “in the classroom” but rather “as the classroom.

“My journey map”: Developing a qualitative approach to mapping young people’s progress in residential rehabilitation

Young people with substance misuse issues are at risk of harm from significant negative health and life events. Contemporary research notes both a historical failure to recognize the unique needs of adolescents, and the ongoing need for dedicated adolescent treatment programs and outcome measures. It is concerning that there is so little literature assessing the quality, availability, and effectiveness of adolescent-focused treatment programs, and no adolescent-specific measurement tools centered on a young person’s progress in residential treatment. This article reports on the process of developing a qualitative approach to mapping progress in treatment over time. The research seeks to develop an approach that captures, at three points in time and from multiple viewpoints, the progress of young people in four residential rehabilitation services located in New South Wales and Western Australia, across several dimensions of the personal and social aspects of life. Our aim is to develop an approach that is accessible to the alcohol and other drug workforce, and that informs the development of a psychometrically robust quantitative measure of progress that is meaningful and useful both to practitioners and to the young people themselves

Growth and Diversification of Doctoral Education in the United Kingdom

The chapter analyses the growth in numbers of doctoral students and doctoral degrees awarded in the United Kingdom in recent years and develops two arguments related to this growth. First, doctoral education and training no longer serve almost exclusively the reproduction of the academic profession but provide a highly qualified workforce for the knowledge-intensive sectors of society. Second, due to the growth in the numbers, motives and purposes for obtaining a doctoral degree have diversified leading to the development of new routes towards a doctorate and an expansion in the types of doctoral degree. The United Kingdom is probably the European country with the highest degree of diversity in terms of doctoral degree types, and the most important ones are briefly described in the chapter. This second part will also include a brief discussion of nonacademic labour markets for doctoral degree holders. A third part of the chapter will look at the extended policy field into which doctoral education and training have increasingly been embedded in recent years. Given the fact that doctoral degree holders are a valuable resource (e.g. in human capital terms) for various economic sectors of the knowledge society, their education and training is no longer considered to be exclusively an academic affair. Instead, it is increasingly managed at institutional level and guided by policy processes at national and – at least in Europe – at supranational level. The fourth and final part of the chapter will discuss the question of the growing divergence or growing convergence in doctoral education and training. It is assumed that, despite the growing diversity of pathways and doctoral degree types, there is also some convergence at play – at least at the European level – in so far as quality assurance, definitions of skills and qualifications as well as procedures for the examination and award of degrees are increasingly subject to standards, rules and regulations defined by the European network of quality assurance agencies. It remains to be seen whether the exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union will have an impact on, or even reverse, this trend

Principals on L-plates: rear view mirror reflections

Purpose – This paper aims to contribute to the literature on beginning the principalship by identifying and illustrating key challenges that novice principals encounter in their first year for which they would benefit from improved preparation. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is a synthesis of a decade of research focusing on the principal with the general aim of analysing ways in which principals can work more effectively within the realities of schools as highly complex organizations. Throughout this work, the narrative account has been used as the main approach for depicting principals' understandings of the contexts in which they find themselves and their interpretations of the experiences that confront them in their roles. Findings – A range of findings generated from the research as a whole has been refined into the conceptualisation of four distinct but interrelated challenges facing novice principals in exercising their roles. Originality/value – The paper proposes a conceptual framework that can be used as a heuristic tool for informing the preparation of principals, especially in the Australian context

Leading for sustainability: is surface understanding enough?

Purpose – This paper aims to report an investigation of how education for sustainability is conceptualised, incorporated across the curriculum and led in three Western Australian Government secondary schools. It also reports on processes to enable education for sustainability to become embedded into these schools. Design/methodology/approach – Data for the research were gathered through semi-structured interviews with teachers who were reputedly leading education for sustainability. Findings – With the exception of one participant, the concept of education for sustainability is not widely embraced in the schools of this study. Instead participants focus only on the environmental aspect of sustainability. Again, with the exception of one participant, education for sustainability remains fragmented and vulnerable to changing school conditions. Leadership of education for sustainability occurs whimsically and with little vision for the future across this study with little evidence of alliance building or collaboration among colleagues. Originality/value – The paper concludes that leading for sustainability requires a combination of a deep knowledge of sustainability; forward thinking and the ability to imagine a different future; the interpersonal and networking skills to build strong relationships; and the energy and capability of taking action to achieve the imagined different future